AFRP Area of Coverage

Paynes and Antelope Creek

Antelope Creek:• 123 square miles• Fall-run Chinook, spring-run Chinook,

steelhead. • 32 miles of anadromous habitat (historical

and present)Paynes Creek:• 93 square miles (59,540 acres) • Fall-run Chinook salmon. • Unknown miles of anadromous habitat

Issues affecting Salmonid Production in Antelope and Paynes

Creeks• Data gaps regarding fish distribution, and

passage, flow, and entrainment limiting factors caused by agricultural diversions

• Limiting factors involving habitat conditions (spawning gravel, channel structure) have not been addressed to a large extent

• Fish population information is limited and sporadic

Watershed Accomplishments• Tehama East Watershed

Assessment, Watershed Management Plan

• Antelope Creek--Edwards Dam Fish Ladder (AFRP)

• Tehama Wildlife Area Crossing (in progress)

• Upper watershed fuels and erosion control

Upcoming and Current Projects• Antelope Creek Fish Bypass,

Edwards and Los Molinos Mutual IC Diversions

• Lower Antelope Creek Geomorphological Study (in progress)

• Antelope Creek Crossing Repair in the Tehama Wildlife Area (ongoing)

Mill Creek

• 134 square miles

• Spring-run Chinook, Fall-run Chinook, late fall-run, and steelhead

• 44 miles of anadromous fish habitat (historical and present)

Issues affecting Salmonid Production

• Lower watershed instream habitat conditions

• Noxious weed control / riparian habitat quality and quantity

• Potential for catastrophic fire impacts

• Development

• Maintaining conditions for fish passage

Watershed Accomplishments• Twelve AFRP-funded

projects • AFRP staff well integrated

with local watershed efforts and the Mill Creek Conservancy

• CALFED grants completed an upper watershed assessment (Forest Service), road erosion inventory and road improvements, and restoration projects.

• Bureau of Reclamation grant to identify irrigation efficiency projects, minimum flows required for fish passage, and passage issues/project

• Long term water exchange and/or rights acquisition underway

Upcoming and Current Projects• Water right acquisition / easements• Riparian assessment (just initiated)• Assessment of fish passage at

diversions and siphons (just initiated)

Deer Creek

• 208 Square Miles

• Fall-run, late fall-run and spring-run Chinook salmon, and steelhead

• 40 miles of anadromous fish habitat (historical and present)

Issues affecting Salmonid Production

• Maintaining fish passage over dams

• Instream habitat quality

• Obtaining adequate flow conditions during passage

• Flood management

• Development

• Noxious weeds / Riparian habitat quality and quantity

Watershed Accomplishments• Seven AFRP-funded projects

completed • AFRP staff well integrated with

local watershed efforts and the Deer Creek Watershed Conservancy

• CALFED grants completed an upper watershed assessment (Forest Service), road erosion inventory and road improvements, restoration projects, watershed coordinator, floodplain feasibility study in the lower watershed (still in development), ranch management planning, meadow restoration, conservation easements, updating the watershed strategy, noxious weed removal (Arrundo donax), water quality monitoring, water use efficiency projects, and environmental education.

• (DCID project): Four Pumps funding has been used to develop water exchanges via groundwater use

Upcoming and Current Projects◦ Floodplain feasibility study implementation (Phase II)

◦ Negotiation on water exchange program, DCID, DWR, DFG

◦ Fish Passage at Lower Deer Creek Falls (AFRP or NFPP)

Cottonwood Creek

• 934 square miles

• Spring-run, Fall-run, late fall-run, and steelhead.

• 83 miles of anadromous fish habitat (historical and present)

Issues affecting Salmonid Production

• Data gaps on straying/stranding, water quality, erosion, and habitat conditions caused by land management practices (e.g. gravel mining, agriculture, development).

• Population and Life History Information—Cottonwood Creek fish population information is limited and sporadic does not have consistent survey effort other than Beegum Creek spring-run Chinook inventories

• Limiting factors involving habitat conditions (spawning gravel, channel structure) have not been addressed to a large extent.

• Geomorphological stability• Severe bank erosion and riparian habitat loss• Land development • Non-native plant invasion • Instream gravel mining impacts • Future impacts of the slide in Slides Glade, South Fork

Cottonwood Creek• Trespass, dumping and damaging recreational practices

Watershed Accomplishments• AFRP staff well integrated with

local watershed efforts and are technical advisors to the Cottonwood Creek Watershed Group.

• CALFED funding for watershed assessment, watershed management strategy, a watershed management plan, a geomorphological analysis of portions of the lower watershed, and an environmental education grant.

• Grant funding for fire prevention/fuelbreaks, riparian inventory / noxious weed

• mapping (NRCS grant), aerial photography, riparian

• restoration (USFWS Partners • for Fish and Wildlife).• ACID Siphon (AFRP-funded)• Programmatic Safe Harbor

Agreement, CA Red-legged Frog

Upcoming/Ongoing Projects• Phase II,

Geomorphological Analysis, Cottonwood Creek (AFRP, ongoing)

• Fall Run Chinook salmon escapement evaluation using Video Weir technology (AFRP initiated)

• NIS Removal, SF Cottonwood Creek (ongoing, AFRP)

• Fish Passage, SF Cottonwood, Hammer Diversion

• Mid watershed fuels management

Cow Creek

• 429 square miles• Fall-run Chinook, late fall-run Chinook,

steelhead, steelhead Critical Habitat, spring Chinook CH.

• Miles of anadromous habitat (historical and present) not yet quantified however thought to be below 1000 foot in elevation

• 164.4 river miles in five major tributaries and mainstem

Factors Affecting Salmonid Production

• Data gaps on straying/stranding, water quality, erosion, and habitat conditions caused by land management practices (e.g. gravel mining, agriculture, development).

• • Population and Life History Information—Cow Creek fish

population information is limited and sporadic does not have consistent survey effort

• Limiting factors involving habitat conditions (spawning gravel, channel structure) have not been addressed to a large extent.

• Fish passage over diversion dams

• Land development

• Non-native plant invasion

Watershed Accomplishments• AFRP staff well integrated with

local watershed efforts and are technical advisors to the Cow Creek Watershed Management

Group. • Watershed Assessment• Management Plan (AFRP)• Water Quality Studies (AFRP &

RWQCB)• Two fish screens (only 2 in

system, CDFG & RWQCB)• Various restoration projects

with EQIP and CDFG funding• Tailwater pond pilot project• Fall-run Chinook salmon

escapement evaluation using Video Weir technology (AFRP)

Upcoming and Ongoing Projects• Clover Creek-Millville diversion

dam and siphon restoration project (environmental compliance – AFRP)

• Fall-Chinook escapement evaluation using video weir technology (AFRP-initiated)

• Ditch piping pilot study• Riparian Habitat Assessment

(AFRP)• Cook and Butcher Diversion Dam

Restoration Project (AFRP or NFPP—funding pending)

• Fish barrier Assessment (AFRP)

Cow Creek Watershed Anadromous Fish Passage Assessment and Prioritization for

Remediation Project • Final restoration Plan, AFRP: Four

actions were identified for the restoration of anadromous fish in Cow Creek. Two of these actions include screen all diversions to protect all life history stages of anadromous fish, and improve passage at agricultural diversion dams.

• The need for a barrier inventory is also identified within the Cow Creek Watershed Management Plan (2005)

• Project goal: To identify, classify, and map anadromous fish passage barriers within the Cow Creek Watershed. In addition, this project is to prioritize anthropogenic barriers for remediation and identify diversion screening needs.

Methods• Techniques used in:

1) the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). 2009. Fish passage and surface water diversion screening assessment and prioritization manual. Olympia (WA): Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; 2) Third Edition, Volume II, Part IX of the California Salmonid Stream Habitat Restoration Manual (Manual) for road crossing barrier analyses.

• Three anadromous salmonid species use Cow Creek, fall run Chinook salmon, late-fall run Chinook salmon, and steelhead. Barriers are to be classified by species, age class, and flow. Potential barrier types that may be encountered could include diversion dams, natural falls, subterranean flow, chutes, cascades, and road crossings. Any diversions or pumps are to be assessed in regards to meeting screening criteria as developed by CDFG and NMFS as described in Appendix S, December 2002 and May 2010 editions of the Manual.

• A total barrier is a feature that no species or age class can pass at any flow. Partial barriers are to be classified as to what species and lifestage, and at what flow(s).

• Analyzing the natural barriers currently identified early in the process will assist in determining the range of anadromy and thus assist in determining the extent of surveys.

Timeline• Collect and Synthesize Existing

Information: September 2011 to October 2011

• Kick-off meeting and Workplan: October 2011 (10/11/11 was date of public meeting)

• Obtain access: October 2011 to January 201

• Validate Natural Barriers: Winter / Spring 2012

• Field Inventory below natural barriers: Summer / Fall 2012

• Identify Priorities and Develop Geodatabase: By March 2013

• Draft Report: June 2013

• Final Report: September 2013

Contact Information Northern Area AFRP

• Tricia Parker Hamelberg, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (530) 527-3043, tricia_parker@fws.gov

• Brenda Olson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (530) 527-3043, brenda_olson@fws.gov or

• Tricia Bratcher, CA Dept. of Fish and Game, (530) 225-3845, pbratcher@dfg.ca.gov

• Also visit the AFRP website at: http://www.fws.gov/stockton/afrp/

Photos courtesy of D. Bickford and P. Bratcher